Naomi Long
Main Page: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)Department Debates - View all Naomi Long's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(12 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Paterson
I am delighted that after six months the draft programme has come forward, and I very much hope that the Executive will crack on in working with the Assembly to deliver its main elements as soon as possible.
Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance)
One recent political development was that the Assembly agreed unanimously that the Secretary of State should convene talks to discuss how to deal with the issue of the past. Why, in the face of that consensus, does the Secretary of State refuse to do so?
Mr Paterson
That is a little unfair. Within a couple of days, I went to talk to the Speaker of the Assembly to discuss with him how best to address this issue, and I am now going to write to the leaders of all the main parties to discuss with their representatives how to take it forward. The sad problem regarding the past is that there is no consensus that we have detected. My right hon. Friend the Minister and I have been right round Northern Ireland talking to all sorts of groups involved with the past. Sadly, there is no consensus, but I will write to the parties and we will keep talking. This is very much an issue that has to be sorted out with local parties as well.